215 Freeway opens early after weekend closure

A stretch of Interstate 215 shut down since Friday reopened ahead of schedule Sunday, May 6, 2012.

May 6, 2012 12:00:00 AM PDT

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. --

A stretch of Interstate 215 shut down since Friday reopened ahead of schedule Sunday.

"The Big Shift," as it's known, forced drivers to take alternate routes all weekend as crews worked to widen the 215.

The closure of northbound lanes of the freeway was supposed to last until tomorrow morning, but work wrapped up early.

"Because the public really reacted to our outreach and the various communications that we did, people stayed away from the area, so the construction team could focus on construction rather than traffic management," said Tim Watkins of the San Bernardino Associated Governments.

This weekend's shut down was part of a $723-million project that will help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow for drivers traveling on the 215.